SEATTLE, Washington, Jan. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phase Genomics, Inc., the biotech leader providing proximity-ligation next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions for metagenome assembly, today announced the award of a $1.5MM National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant to develop a low-cost platform for targeted detection of antimicrobial resistance mobile elements and their hosts in uncultured microbial communities.
Phase Genomics will develop a rapid antimicrobial resistance (AMR) element capture kit and a user-friendly web portal to identify the hosts of AMR genes and analyze the transmission of antimicrobial resistant elements directly from complex microbial communities. The new AMR tracking kit will initially target a combination of markets valued at more than $400MM, including high-risk scenarios requiring quick turn-around such as human infectious disease in clinical settings, and AMR reservoirs like wastewater treatment plants and agricultural environments.
The new tracking method fills a significant technological void as shotgun metagenomic methods fail to capture host-element information. Methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and long-read sequencing technologies cannot provide critical information about which species or strain host a given AMR mobile element.
“This new grant enables the development of a new class of tools and methods for identifying antimicrobial resistance hosts and providing critical information for understanding the ecology of the transmission of AMR genes,” said Ivan Liachko, PhD, Founder and CEO of Phase Genomics. “Our affordable and fast AMR tracking kit will build upon Phase Genomics’ extensive expertise with proximity ligation techniques, and will provide scientists with a new dimension of data to help solve the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.”
Utilizing its proprietary technology along with high-throughput kits and automation, Phase Genomics expects to reduce current sequencing costs by more than 90% relative to the current alternatives for mobile-element-host affiliation.
“Proximity-ligation tools like Hi-C offer a unique advantage in their ability to capture intra-cellular DNA junctions and I believe use of this approach will greatly benefit the AMR research community, and has significant potential in the clinical space as well,” said Paul J. Plummer, DVM PhD, the Executive Director, National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and collaborator on the grant.
Antibacterial resistance has emerged as a global health threat; a US Centers for Disease Control report estimates that 35,000 people in the US die each year due to infections from resistant bacteria. The funding will span over two years starting in January of 2020.
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ABOUT PHASE GENOMICS – Phase Genomics applies Hi-C and other proximity-ligation methods to enable chromosome-scale genome assembly, metagenomic deconvolution, as well as analysis of structural genomic variation and genome architecture. They offer a comprehensive portfolio of laboratory and computational services and products, including Hi-C kits for plants, animals, microbes, and human samples as well as industry-leading genome and metagenome assembly and analysis software. Based in Seattle, WA, the company was founded in 2015 by a team of genome scientists, software engineers, and entrepreneurs. The company’s mission is to empower scientists with genomic tools that accelerate breakthrough discoveries.